Water bottlers back for another round

Published: Saturday, April 16, 2011 at 11:59 p.m.

Last Modified: Saturday, April 16, 2011 at 11:59 p.m.

An Ocala family's plan to bottle and sell the unique water flowing beneath eastern Marion County is back — with a twist.

The Moody family still plans to capture water from the 12-acre site it owns along the shore of Lake George in the Ocala National Forest.

But the proposed bottling part of the operation, once planned for an on-site, 29,000-square-foot plant, has shifted.

.

The Moodys, according to their application with the county, instead intend to haul the water to a bottling facility elsewhere within the confines of the 18-county region covered by the St. Johns River Water Management District.

The application will assuredly rekindle the heated public debate that accompanied their first request to siphon up to 90,000 gallons a day for the project.

The County Commission rejected the proposal by a 3-2 vote after residents in a nearby Salt Springs community expressed concerns about depleted wells, their ruined quality of life by introducing a factory into a rural community, and setting a precedent for inviting more water bottlers.

That latter issue might get closer examination this time around.

Hypocrisy at work?

The Moodys could argue that, despite the County Commission's rigid opposition to water-bottling proposals in the past, they would be following a trail blazed by others — including Marion County itself — in profiting off the community's water supply.

St. Johns officials, who oversee water usage in Marion County east of Interstate 75, have approved four current permits for water bottling within Marion County, district records show.

The list includes:

The Silver Springs Bottled Water Co., which operates from a plant off Northwest 42nd Street in Ocala, is approved to draw 410,000 gallons a day, or up to 151 million gallons a year. That permit, which was renewed in June 2007, expires in June 2027.

According to records filed in February, the most recent available, the company withdrew on average about 263,000 gallons a day over the last six months of 2010.

The Dickson Trust, which gets water from Marion County's Utilities Department, is approved for 200,000 gallons a day.

The Dickson Trust, which owned property immediately north of Silver Springs, first applied for a permit to pump water for bottling in 2001.

That application set off a legal squabble among the property owners, the county and state water managers.

In March 2003, the county and the Dickson Trust reached an agreement that limited the amount of water to be pumped from the site.

One condition of the agreement made the Dickson Trust a customer of the privately held Silver Springs Regional Water Utilities Inc., which had been granted a franchise by the County Commission in the 1990s.

Marion County later acquired the utility in September 2004.

The permit, which is still in the Dickson Trust name, was renewed in January 2007. It expires in January 2027.

According to county spokeswoman Christy Jergens, the county pumps on average about 163,500 gallons a day through the Dickson Trust permit.

The water the county supplies is purchased and bottled by Publix, Winn-Dixie, CVS and Walgreen's, Jergens said.

The county reaps about $120,000 a year for supplying that water.

Premium Waters Inc., a Minneapolis-based company that is authorized to draw 197,000 gallons a day, or about 72 million gallons a year, of both surface- and ground-water from a plant in Orange Springs in north Marion.

That permit was due to expire today . St. Johns spokesman Hank Largin said the company ceased operations at the site in 2008 but has requested a renewal of its permit.

St. Johns' governors will likely consider that next month.

Ray Greene and Angus Hastings, who own a 159-acre site in Black Sink Prairie in Citra, have been approved to pump up to 499,000 gallons a day from their site in Citra.

The county fought the permit in court and initially lost when the case went to a state appeals court.

The appellate judges said the county had no legal authority to preempt the judgment of state water managers in doling out Florida's water for bottling.

Yet in January 2010 local Circuit Judge Brian Lambert upheld the County Commission's later rejection of a permit to allow as many as 65 trucks into the site to transport the water.

County Attorney Guy Minter said the landowners at one point had talked to county officials about piping the water to another property that was zoned for such usage and bottling it there, but nothing further had been resolved. Largin said no pumping activity had been recorded at the site so far.

There are no active water-bottling permits under the jurisdiction of the Southwest Florida Water Management District, agency spokeswoman Amy Harroun said. The district regulates water usage in Marion County west of I-75.

Swiftmud, as the agency is commonly known, had approved one in 2006 for a site west of Ocala for about 82,000 gallons a day, Harroun said. That has since expired.

What's next

The Moody application goes before the county Zoning Commission on April 25. That recommendation will most likely come before the County Commission for final approval on May 17.

During the debate of the first application, Lawren Moody, the family's representative, said the $6 million project would employ up to 60 people.

The mineral water captured on the family's property — located at State Road 19 and Northeast 100th Street — would qualify as mineral water, whose taste could rival products from Europe's leading bottled-water companies. Moody had said the 90,000 gallons a day was the ceiling for the artesian well the family planned to install.

After 200 or so opponents urged the commission to reject the plan, however, Commissioners Charlie Stone, Mike Amsden and Kathy Bryant voted against the proposal — while Commissioners Stan McClain and Carl Zalak supported it.

<p>An Ocala family's plan to bottle and sell the unique water flowing beneath eastern Marion County is back — with a twist.</p><p>The Moody family still plans to capture water from the 12-acre site it owns along the shore of Lake George in the Ocala National Forest.</p><p>But the proposed bottling part of the operation, once planned for an on-site, 29,000-square-foot plant, has shifted.</p><hr />
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.<p>The Moodys, according to their application with the county, instead intend to haul the water to a bottling facility elsewhere within the confines of the 18-county region covered by the St. Johns River Water Management District.</p><p>The application will assuredly rekindle the heated public debate that accompanied their first request to siphon up to 90,000 gallons a day for the project.</p><p>The County Commission rejected the proposal by a 3-2 vote after residents in a nearby Salt Springs community expressed concerns about depleted wells, their ruined quality of life by introducing a factory into a rural community, and setting a precedent for inviting more water bottlers.</p><p>That latter issue might get closer examination this time around.</p><p><b>Hypocrisy at work?</b></p><p>The Moodys could argue that, despite the County Commission's rigid opposition to water-bottling proposals in the past, they would be following a trail blazed by others — including Marion County itself — in profiting off the community's water supply.</p><p>St. Johns officials, who oversee water usage in Marion County east of Interstate 75, have approved four current permits for water bottling within Marion County, district records show.</p><p>The list includes:</p><p>The Silver Springs Bottled Water Co., which operates from a plant off Northwest 42nd Street in Ocala, is approved to draw 410,000 gallons a day, or up to 151 million gallons a year. That permit, which was renewed in June 2007, expires in June 2027.</p><p>According to records filed in February, the most recent available, the company withdrew on average about 263,000 gallons a day over the last six months of 2010.</p><p>The Dickson Trust, which gets water from Marion County's Utilities Department, is approved for 200,000 gallons a day.</p><p>The Dickson Trust, which owned property immediately north of Silver Springs, first applied for a permit to pump water for bottling in 2001.</p><p>That application set off a legal squabble among the property owners, the county and state water managers.</p><p>In March 2003, the county and the Dickson Trust reached an agreement that limited the amount of water to be pumped from the site.</p><p>One condition of the agreement made the Dickson Trust a customer of the privately held Silver Springs Regional Water Utilities Inc., which had been granted a franchise by the County Commission in the 1990s.</p><p>Marion County later acquired the utility in September 2004.</p><p>The permit, which is still in the Dickson Trust name, was renewed in January 2007. It expires in January 2027.</p><p>According to county spokeswoman Christy Jergens, the county pumps on average about 163,500 gallons a day through the Dickson Trust permit.</p><p>The water the county supplies is purchased and bottled by Publix, Winn-Dixie, CVS and Walgreen's, Jergens said.</p><p>The county reaps about $120,000 a year for supplying that water.</p><p>Premium Waters Inc., a Minneapolis-based company that is authorized to draw 197,000 gallons a day, or about 72 million gallons a year, of both surface- and ground-water from a plant in Orange Springs in north Marion.</p><p>That permit was due to expire today . St. Johns spokesman Hank Largin said the company ceased operations at the site in 2008 but has requested a renewal of its permit.</p><p>St. Johns' governors will likely consider that next month.</p><p>Ray Greene and Angus Hastings, who own a 159-acre site in Black Sink Prairie in Citra, have been approved to pump up to 499,000 gallons a day from their site in Citra.</p><p>The county fought the permit in court and initially lost when the case went to a state appeals court.</p><p>The appellate judges said the county had no legal authority to preempt the judgment of state water managers in doling out Florida's water for bottling.</p><p>Yet in January 2010 local Circuit Judge Brian Lambert upheld the County Commission's later rejection of a permit to allow as many as 65 trucks into the site to transport the water.</p><p>County Attorney Guy Minter said the landowners at one point had talked to county officials about piping the water to another property that was zoned for such usage and bottling it there, but nothing further had been resolved. Largin said no pumping activity had been recorded at the site so far.</p><p>There are no active water-bottling permits under the jurisdiction of the Southwest Florida Water Management District, agency spokeswoman Amy Harroun said. The district regulates water usage in Marion County west of I-75.</p><p>Swiftmud, as the agency is commonly known, had approved one in 2006 for a site west of Ocala for about 82,000 gallons a day, Harroun said. That has since expired.</p><p><b>What's next</b></p><p>The Moody application goes before the county Zoning Commission on April 25. That recommendation will most likely come before the County Commission for final approval on May 17.</p><p>During the debate of the first application, Lawren Moody, the family's representative, said the $6 million project would employ up to 60 people.</p><p>The mineral water captured on the family's property — located at State Road 19 and Northeast 100th Street — would qualify as mineral water, whose taste could rival products from Europe's leading bottled-water companies. Moody had said the 90,000 gallons a day was the ceiling for the artesian well the family planned to install.</p><p>After 200 or so opponents urged the commission to reject the plan, however, Commissioners Charlie Stone, Mike Amsden and Kathy Bryant voted against the proposal — while Commissioners Stan McClain and Carl Zalak supported it.</p><p><i>Contact Bill Thompson at 867-4117 or bill.thompson@starbanner.com.</i></p>